Decoding S. Sreesanth’s WWF-Inspired Celebration After Dismissing Matthew Hayden in 2007 T20 World Cup

S. Sreesanth gives WWF reference while decoding his famous celebration vs. Matthew Hayden.

Decoding S. Sreesanth’s WWF-Inspired Celebration After Dismissing Matthew Hayden in 2007 T20 World Cup

S. Sreesanth and Matthew Hayden (Image via CricTracker)

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One of the greatest archives in Indian cricket has been the successful 2007 T20I World Cup. The Indian team got their hands on the trophy in the first ever edition of the T20I World Cup, beating archrivals Pakistan in the final. That World Cup saw India and Pakistan have two extremely intense and close encounters that kept fans on the edge of their seats. India won both those encounters.

Apart from the much-celebrated India-Pakistan games there was the India-Australia semifinal match that was very important for every fan. Having lost to Australia six times in a row in World Cup matches meant India wasn’t going as favorites into the clash. A young Indian team was up against an experienced, tested Australian side.

An incident that many have loved from that match was when S. Sreesanth dismissed Matthew Hayden and came up with an animated celebration of slapping the wicket thrice before signaling Hayden to go on his way. In a program called Cheeky Singles streaming on Jio Hotstar, Sreesanth opened up on that incident and explained why he celebrated so animatedly.

Matthew Hayden looks so big. Most people don’t know why I did what I did. So, he got bowled, and what do you do in WWF (World Wrestling Federation), ‘three taps and you are out’.

S. Sreesanth said

Sreesanth describing Hayden’s stature, explained that his celebration was inspired by the WWF act of tapping thrice and declaring the winner. Many loved the fact that Sreesanth showed the aggressive Australian side a taste of their own medicine. India went on to win that match by 15 runs.

Australia were cruising at 134-2 in 14 overs chasing 188 runs set by India. Sreesanth dismissed Hayden at that point to derail Australia, and the chasing side eventually fell short. Yuvraj Singh‘s quickfire 70 off just 30 balls earned him a deserving Man of the Match award as India prevailed to the final on the back of a complete performance. They eventually beat Pakistan to clinch the title.

A look back at S. Sreesanth’s on field antics

S. Sreesanth was often called out for his on-field behavior. He was many times seen getting into the batters’ space after getting a wicket and sometimes went overboard with his aggression, earning him unwanted bans.

S Sreesanth and Andrew Symonds in a heated moment
S. Sreesanth and Andrew Symonds (via News18)

In 2006, Sreesanth was criticized heavily for his dance after hitting South Africa’s Andre Nel for a six. Nel had previously sledged Sreesanth, however, when the Kerala based player got his revenge, he danced, which was interpreted as a mockery of Nel and earned him a warning from the BCCI.

The following year, in 2007, on the English tour, Sreesanth shoulder barged England captain Micheal Vaughan and also bowled a lethal beamer to Kevin Pietersen. He received fines for unsportsmanlike conduct right through the series.

In the same year, he was also seen getting into Australian batter Andrew Symonds‘ way after dismissing him in a tour match. He grit his teeth and made a violent gesture as Symonds aggressively responded before walking off.

In the 2008 Indian Premier League, Kings XI Punjab, which the pacer was a part of, defeated the Mumbai Indians. In the post match handshakes, Sreesanth was slapped by Harbhajan Singh, who was playing for Mumbai. Reportedly, Sreesanth had provoked Singh, and Singh couldn’t control his anger and got physical.

This earned Singh a ban, and Sreesanth received another warning. Sreesanth, a two time World Cup winner, was famous not only for his quick pacy spells but also for a lot of entertaining reactions around his playing days.

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